Wednesday, January 6, 2010

"The researchers, from Bristol University, looked at more than 4,000 young people aged 15, using scanning techniques that calculated the shape and density of their bones, as well as how much body fat they had.

"Those with higher levels of fat tended to have larger and thicker bones. It has long been known that the amount of muscle in the body is related to bone growth, but the findings show the role that fat plays.

"In girls, an 11lb (5kg) increase in fat mass was associated with an 8 per cent increase in the circumference of the tibia (lower leg bone). As girls tend to have higher levels of fat than boys, even when they are of normal weight, the findings suggest that fat plays an important role in female bone development, with the positive influence about 70 per cent greater in girls."